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Cover image courtesy of publisher.
Issue Details: First known date: 2007... 2007 Writing Heritage : The Depiction of Indigenous Heritage in European-Australian Writings
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'From the late nineteenth century and into the twentieth century, European-Australians were actively recording, documenting and collecting Aboriginal heritage. This book examines how they did this, exploring perceptions of authenticity and innovation in Aboriginal heritage and approaches to ethnographic collecting.' (Publisher's blurb)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Kew, Camberwell - Kew area, Melbourne - Inner South, Melbourne, Victoria,: Australian Scholarly Publishing , 2007 .
      image of person or book cover 3325100965690216691.jpg
      Cover image courtesy of publisher.
      Extent: xxi, 279p., [20]p. of platesp.
      Description: illus., ports
      Note/s:
      • Includes bibliography (p.346-361) and index.
      ISBN: 1740970012, 9781740971447

Works about this Work

Fragments Shored against Ruins Paul Gillen , 2010 single work criticism
— Appears in: Cultural Studies Review , vol. 16 no. 2 2010;
'Denis Byrne's Surface Collection is a finely written philosophical travelogue, taking the reader on an archaeological tour of South Asia that is also a personal quest and a critique of heritage conservation. Its closely organised structure, reminiscent of baroque music, begins with an investigation of the modes of erasure or preservation of the recent past in South East Asia, shifts to an ironic narrative of futile quests for historical traces, and concludes with reflections on the clash of popular Buddhist relic worship with the values of heritage conservation. Byrne stages the latter conflict as between magical and rationalistic worldviews. Mildly dissenting, this essay suggests that although heritage conservation deploys scientific means, it is based on the sacralisation of the past. This motivation brings it closer to magic than to core tenets of Enlightenment, either of the Rational or the Buddhist kind.' (Author's abstract)
[Review Essay] Writing Heritage : The Depiction of Indigenous Heritage in European-Australian Writings Geoffrey Gray , 2009 single work essay
— Appears in: Australian Aboriginal Studies , no. 1 2009; (p. 101-102)

'This is a book with a foreword (Michael Dodson), a prologue (Craddock Morton) and an introduction (Michael Davis), which are united in the belief that it presents the ‘views of non-Indigenous people who wrote about Indigenous heritage in their own words’ (pp.viii, ix, xiv, xx). To be precise, the volume is actually about Aboriginal heritage; the Torres Strait Islands are not included. Davis writes that his aim ‘in this book is not to discuss Indigenous cultural heritage as such, nor to describe a history of heritage production; rather, it is to describe textual representations of this heritage’ (p.xv)' (Introduction)

Clear-Eyed Survey in a Crowded Field Nicolas Rothwell , 2008 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 24-25 May 2008; (p. 12-13)

— Review of Writing Heritage : The Depiction of Indigenous Heritage in European-Australian Writings Michael Davis , 2007 single work criticism
Surface Collectors Maria Nugent , 2008 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , May no. 301 2008; (p. 33-34)

— Review of Writing Heritage : The Depiction of Indigenous Heritage in European-Australian Writings Michael Davis , 2007 single work criticism
Surface Collectors Maria Nugent , 2008 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , May no. 301 2008; (p. 33-34)

— Review of Writing Heritage : The Depiction of Indigenous Heritage in European-Australian Writings Michael Davis , 2007 single work criticism
Clear-Eyed Survey in a Crowded Field Nicolas Rothwell , 2008 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 24-25 May 2008; (p. 12-13)

— Review of Writing Heritage : The Depiction of Indigenous Heritage in European-Australian Writings Michael Davis , 2007 single work criticism
Fragments Shored against Ruins Paul Gillen , 2010 single work criticism
— Appears in: Cultural Studies Review , vol. 16 no. 2 2010;
'Denis Byrne's Surface Collection is a finely written philosophical travelogue, taking the reader on an archaeological tour of South Asia that is also a personal quest and a critique of heritage conservation. Its closely organised structure, reminiscent of baroque music, begins with an investigation of the modes of erasure or preservation of the recent past in South East Asia, shifts to an ironic narrative of futile quests for historical traces, and concludes with reflections on the clash of popular Buddhist relic worship with the values of heritage conservation. Byrne stages the latter conflict as between magical and rationalistic worldviews. Mildly dissenting, this essay suggests that although heritage conservation deploys scientific means, it is based on the sacralisation of the past. This motivation brings it closer to magic than to core tenets of Enlightenment, either of the Rational or the Buddhist kind.' (Author's abstract)
[Review Essay] Writing Heritage : The Depiction of Indigenous Heritage in European-Australian Writings Geoffrey Gray , 2009 single work essay
— Appears in: Australian Aboriginal Studies , no. 1 2009; (p. 101-102)

'This is a book with a foreword (Michael Dodson), a prologue (Craddock Morton) and an introduction (Michael Davis), which are united in the belief that it presents the ‘views of non-Indigenous people who wrote about Indigenous heritage in their own words’ (pp.viii, ix, xiv, xx). To be precise, the volume is actually about Aboriginal heritage; the Torres Strait Islands are not included. Davis writes that his aim ‘in this book is not to discuss Indigenous cultural heritage as such, nor to describe a history of heritage production; rather, it is to describe textual representations of this heritage’ (p.xv)' (Introduction)

Last amended 17 Apr 2014 12:41:10
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